St. Dorotheus, a wise abbot from the early Church, here explains why we get so ruffled by the criticism of others. He illustrates the value of fraternal correction and self-accusation in the spiritual life. ...
Leo the Great explains how the Ascenion increases our faith in what is unseen, namely the divinity of Christ, and how our Redeemer's visible presence after the Ascension passes into the sacraments....
This excerpt on the sacrament of baptism from St. Basil the Great’s book On the Holy Spirit (ca. AD 360) describes how baptism fulfills what Jesus says to Nicodemus in John 3 about being born again in water and the Spirit. He also here outlines...
Cyril of Alexandria here emphasizes that the risen body of Jesus Christ, received in the Eucharist, gives life to those who receive it, expelling death and corruption....
St. Gregory of Agrigentum on God's light as our joy and supreme delight and bathing in the radiance of Christ, the Sun of Justice. This excerpt from his commentary on Ecclesiastes exhorts us to a life of contemplation, since to contemplate his radiant beauty is...
This excerpt from St. Gregory of Agrigentum is an example of the Early Church Father's spiritual interpretation of Scripture whereby realities of the Old Covenant are seen as pointing beyond themselves to Jesus Christ and the realities of the new dispensation. In this case, the...
Tract of Jerome against Helvidius defending the perpetual virginity of Mary, the Mother of Jesus....
Gregory of Nyssa on the famous statement of Ecclesiastes "there is a time to be born and a time to die." He interprets this as a reference to the death and new birth of salvation, dying and rising with Christ through faith and baptism....
Procopius of Gaza on Proverbs declaration that wisdom has built herself a house. His explanation touches on many topics-- the divinity and humanity of Christ, the seven gifts of the holy Spirit, the value of prudence, and the gift of Christ's body and blood...
This excerpt from St. Clement’s First Letter to the Corinthians encourages us to trust in the promise of the resurrection from the dead and eternal life....